15 minute read
Business News
L+R Jason Whittall, Matt Tebbatt (Managing Director), James Lawrence and Mark Martin
A FRESH NEW LOOK FOR ONE IN 2021
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ONE Creative Environments (ONE), a multi-disciplinary design company, is seeing in the New Year in style with a vibrant and refreshed corporate identity. After 45 years in the industry, and more than a decade as ONE, it was felt that the time was right to refresh the company’s branding and logo. The company, which was established in 1975 when it was known as Panton Sargent, was acquired by Prime plc in 2007 and rebranded as ONE in 2008 to reflect the company’s USP of providing all of the services for a design project within one company, with a single point of contact. ONE has all the essential disciplines for a design project inhouse and the dynamic multidisciplinary team comprises of: masterplanning, architecture, interior design, landscape architecture, civil and structural engineering and building services. Matt Tebbatt, Managing Director of ONE, said: “We are fortunate to work with some fantastic clients on some really exciting projects and so the years have flown by as the company has grown. “We invest in technology, work to creatively fulfil our clients visions and believe that designing a building or an environment – however complex – should be a real joy for our clients. Our vibrant new visual identity represents ONE perfectly thanks to CAB Studios.”
www.oneltd.com
COMMITMENT TO PAYING A REAL LIVING WAGE CELEBRATED BY THURSFIELDS
Thursfields Solicitors has started 2021 positively by winning accreditation as a living wage employer, it has been revealed. The commitment will mean that everyone working directly or indirectly for the leading Midlands law firm will receive a minimum hourly wage of £9.30. This hourly rate is significantly higher than the government minimum for over 25s, which currently stands at £8.72 per hour. Jade Linton, HR business partner and associate director in the Employment department at Thursfields, said: “We are proud to have been accredited as a living wage employer. “The West Midlands region has one of the highest proportions of non-living wage jobs in the country, with around 21% or 442,000 of jobs paying less than the real living wage. “Despite this, Thursfields has committed to pay the real living wage and deliver a fair pay for our hard-working colleagues and partners.” Since 2011 the Living Wage movement has delivered a pay rise to over 230,000 people and put over £1 billion extra into the pockets of low paid workers.
www.thursfields.co.uk
MENTAL HEALTH IN THE WORKPLACE
The pandemic has seen increased levels of work-related stress and a strain on mental health as changes to traditional ways of working have been thrust upon us. Whether people have been home working, or had to go into their workplace, it has created increased anxiety about using public transport, social distancing, job security, financial pressures and family responsibilities. It is important therefore that employers recognise these concerns, how they can impact wellbeing and mental health, and in turn, their legal responsibilities to protect people’s welfare. More than anything companies need to support their staff through early intervention and there is a range of good practice which includes regular communication, checking in on people’s wellbeing, encouraging regular breaks, and using technology as much as possible to engage. This is only a brief summary but highlights just why constant and varied colleague engagement is so vital at present. Chris Amys is a solicitor at mfg Solicitors. Members looking for further advice can contact Chris through chris. amys@mfgsolicitors.com
www.mfgsolicitors.com
FISHER GERMAN JOINS FOLK2FOLK VALUATION PANEL
FOLK2FOLK is pleased to announce the appointment of property consultancy Fisher German to its national valuation panel. Approved panel valuers play an essential and vitally important role in the secured lending offered by FOLK2FOLK. Panel valuers provide an independent and reliable assessment on the value of the land or property proposed by the borrower as security against a loan. Valuations of land and property for FOLK2FOLK’s secured lending takes the form of desktop or Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) ‘Red Book’ valuations, depending upon the security property. Fisher German will be providing Red Book valuations. FOLK2FOLK Co-Founder and Head of Legal, Louis Mathers, said: “We’re very pleased to have Fisher German on board and to be adding their significant property expertise to our SME lending and investing service.” Hannah Rose, Associate Director at Fisher German, said: “We are delighted to be appointed to the panel and have the opportunity to work alongside FOLK2FOLK who are extremely well respected in the marketplace lending sector. There are great synergies between Fisher German and FOLK2FOLK and we are looking forward to working together.” FOLK2FOLK recently surpassed £390 million in cumulative lending, providing British small businesses across a wide range of sectors, access to the finance they need to grow, diversify or refinance. FOLK2FOLK is in the process of expanding its valuer panel to ensure good coverage across Britain and further announcements regarding new valuer partners will be made in due course.
www.folk2folk.com
NEW SCHEME AIMS TO HELP BUSINESSES UPGRADE OUTDATED TELEPHONY SYSTEMS
Workplace technology partners EBC Group have introduced a new phone scrappage scheme which aims to help businesses across the region update their current phone systems, whilst claiming up to £995. The scrappage scheme is designed to help businesses with out-dated telephony equipment upgrade and adopt new VoIP technology. The incentive offers business the chance to claim up to £995, with the aim of replacing and recycling aging ISDN lines and older systems. The unexpected shift toward remote working has seen many businesses struggling to maintain communications as they would in an office, with older telephony systems failing to meet the demands of a more flexible workforce. The switch to either a new VoIP telephony system or a ‘Direct Calling’ option via Microsoft Teams will provide businesses with a host of new benefits such as full remote working functions which include; video calling, mobile app extensions, online presence and instant messaging.
www.ebcgroup.co.uk
WHAT IS FUTURE PROOFING A BUSINESS?
Some argue that future proofing a business is an ever-evolving problem, best tackled by tracking market trends and adapting to external changes as they emerge. Based on the past year, those opinions ring true in many ways. Businesses left, right, and centre have succumbed to the effects of multiple lockdowns despite their best efforts, whilst others have beaten the odds by adapting their business plan and moving their operations online. LOCALiQ have found the strength of digital technology and online resources are proving to be a lifesaver for many. With multiple digital marketing companies providing services helping local retailers sell and promote their products online, the future is looking hopeful for SME’s. Understanding how customer needs are adapting with modern times and emerging technologies, and supporting this with an effective marketing plan, will be a step-forward for local businesses planning for the future. www.Localiq.co.uk
Your local, award winning legal experts
PENSION SCHEMES CAN FREE UP CASH FOR BUSINESS
Companies with cash-flow problems, particularly during COVID-19, could be sitting on alternative means of obtaining vital funds.
Businesses with their own premises can consider selling the property to their regulated pension schemes to generate additional cash and investment. Stewart Coles, an Associate Director in the Commercial Property department at Thursfields said “Certain regulated pension schemes such as SIPPs or SSASs can purchase commercial property using the funds in that pension scheme, and the property then sits in the scheme as an investment. “These arrangements are often used by business owners to hold their own business premises in their pension scheme, then the scheme rents the property to the company.” Stewart said one of the principal reasons for going down this route were tax advantages. He explained: “Putting it simply, once the property is in the pension scheme any capital growth in the value of the property is tax free, so when the pension scheme sells the property there is no capital gains tax.” Any rental income going into the pension scheme is also tax free, Stewart said. He added: “It can be very attractive to a business owner to own their premises in their pension scheme and pay the rent into that pension scheme, so building up the scheme’s funds, rather than having to pay rent to an unconnected third party landlord, or paying a mortgage to a bank. “Also, particularly in the current economic climate, and during the COVID pandemic, when businesses are maybe struggling with cash-flow and wanting a bit of a cash injection, it can be an opportunity to use funds currently sitting in their pension scheme which maybe they can’t get access to at the moment, to inject that money into the business.” Stewart stressed that as well as benefitting the business this could also be an attractive investment for the pension fund, as the property will then be an income-producing asset of the scheme and would hopefully increase in capital value. He said other ways of releasing money from a pension was with a SSAS, which is allowed to lend money to an associated company, using the company’s property as security. Stewart said usual legal due diligence had to be carried out as if buying a property from a separate party on an arm’s length basis, and warned: “When it’s in the pension scheme you can’t just do what you want with the property, which you might have been able to do when you owned it personally.” He said the process needed to be led by the financial adviser, and added: “That’s the first step, but from a legal point of view I would say it’s important to get lawyers involved early, to get the paperwork in place.” Stewart’s Talk Legal video on pensions and commercial property can be viewed by visiting www.thursfields.co.uk/
talk-legal-videos
Stewart Coles
For further advice contact Stewart Coles on 0345 20 73 72 8 or
scoles@thursfields.co.uk
Tel: 0345 20 73 72 8 | info@thursfields.co.uk | www.thursfields.co.uk
A YEAR IN TECHNOLOGY - HOW THE PANDEMIC SHAPED US
Let’s take a minute and try and remember life before the pandemic. A lot has changed, but none more so than our relationship with technology.
In just a short amount of time the Covid-19 crisis has pushed us over the technology tipping point and bought about years of change in just 12 months.
Looking to explore how Covid-19 has impacted employees, a new survey conducted by EBC Group in conjunction with the Herefordshire and Worcestershire Chamber of Commerce, has highlighted some of the significant changes in ‘how and where’ we now do business.
For most, the biggest changes came as a result of remote working. The unexpected shift saw many thrown into technology turbulence as they scrambled to get their workforce up and running from home. In fact, 85% of businesses experienced at least one challenge as a result of remote working during this time, an impact that was felt across EBC Group’s support team, with 8 x the number of clients seeking helpdesk support in the first weeks of lockdown.
What became clear were the gaps between those businesses who had already begun to digitally transform their workplace prior to Covid-19 and those who were still running on dated systems. Businesses already taking advantage of cloud technologies were able to shift from office to home with relative ease, setting them apart from those with aging and inflexible technology. In a bid to continue operations ‘as usual’, businesses looked to digitalise key processes with 78% having adopted or increased their use of new technologies over the pandemic. It should come as little surprise that video conferencing saw the biggest leap in this area, with 75% of businesses using platforms such as Zoom or Microsoft Teams as their primary way of conducting meetings and networking.
Additionally, the adoption of technology services such as Office 365, cloud, home print and document management also saw an increase as businesses searched for ways to digitally support their remote teams.
Faced with the challenge of keeping colleagues connected away from the office led businesses to seek out new ways to collaborate effectively. The significant increase in the adoption of collaboration tools saw the Microsoft Teams platform rocket in user numbers, with the app reaching a record 75 million users in a single day, which was 3 x the number just a few months before.
However, the unprecedented increase in digital tools and remote workers didn’t come without its share of risks. Looking to capitalise on the pandemic hackers saw the opportunity that personal devices and vulnerable Wi-Fi connections provided and were quick to take advantage of businesses who didn’t have the right security protocols in place. As a result, 2020 saw an alarming increase in the amount of malspam, phishing and ransomeware attacks.
But how does workplace technology look moving forward? For some, the events of Covid-19 and the strain placed on their technology will prompt a number to sit up and take stock of their current IT setups. 62% of businesses are now expecting their spend on technology and digital transformation to increase as a result of the pandemic. This in part will be influenced by the 31% of businesses that intend to offer greater flexible working options moving forward, and the majority 58% that intend to keep their current flexible working setups.
Having helped many of their clients adapt their technologies to support remote employees, EBC Group recommends that businesses now use this time to reflect on what has and hasn’t worked over the past 12 months. Changes made should be with the objective of developing an effective digital workplace and include a range of solutions such as cloud, collaboration tools and unified communications.
For more information on EBC Group’s digital workplace solutions email hello@ebcgroup.co.uk or 0121 368 0154 or www.ebcgroup.co.uk.
GET NATIONALLY RECOGNISED FOR YOUR SUPPORT TO THE DEFENCE COMMUNITY!
Your organisation, whatever its industry sector or size, can become a powerful force for positive change at a regional and even national level.
Defence is keen to establish open, strategic relationships with employers by tailoring partnering opportunities to mutual needs and business goals. It does so by working with organisations to help them actively promote and understand the benefit to business of partnering with Defence through the Armed Forces Covenant. Then, having established those relationships, Defence is keen to ensure the most supportive organisations are appropriately recognised through the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme (ERS). Now in its eighth year the ERS seeks to recognise those employers who support Defence People objectives and encourage others to exhibit the same behaviours. Whilst the scheme was initially focussed on support to the Reserve Forces, it has since been widened to include the full spectrum of Defence People issues and initiatives. It now encompasses service leavers; veterans; wounded, injured and sick; the Cadet Forces; commercial fairness and spousal employment. The scheme is accessible online and uses a tiered approach for awards. At the Bronze Level employers state their intent to be supportive towards Defence People issues; they do so by signing the Armed Forces Covenant and voluntarily pledging to support the Armed Forces community across a broad range of initiatives, wherever they can add value. The Silver Level recognises employers who actively demonstrate support; and the Gold Level recognises the best employers who demonstrate and also advocate to others the benefits of partnering with Defence and aligning core values to the Armed Forces Covenant. Silver and Gold employers are typically recognised for having supportive HR policies for Reserves and Cadet Force Adult Volunteers. They work with government-funded agencies to support service leavers and veterans to transition successfully into the civilian workforce. With the Chartered Management Institute estimating their training value at over £8,000, Reservists are given world class training to develop essential core skills such as leadership, management, planning, problem-solving and communication, directly benefitting those who employ them. Ex-military personnel, Reservists and military spouses can bring highly valued skills into your organisation. By offering employment to service leavers, granting flexible leave for service spouses and partners before and after deployment, and supporting Reservists, you help to ensure that men and women who have done, and continue to do, so much for our nation are treated fairly and with respect; deserving of Defence's gratitude. Key initiatives for employer support might include:
Employment of Reservists and support through flexible HR policies.
Employment of regular service personnel at the end of their engagements and support for their resettlement, in collaboration with the
Career Transition Partnership.
Employment opportunities for service leavers with more challenging transitions including the wounded, injured and sick.
Employment of spouses/civil partners of service personnel.
Joint development of skills in key areas such as engineering, medical, communications and cyber security.
Career opportunities and support for
Cadet Force Adult Volunteers and cadets.
Tackling disadvantages faced by service personnel in the consumer market.
Encouraging supply chain partners and business networks to do all of the above. Whilst the ERS is designed primarily to recognise private sector support, public sector organisations such as the emergency services, local authorities, NHS trusts and executive agencies are also eligible to be recognised. Charities and community groups can also be recognised, even if they do not employ members of the Armed Forces community, for exceptional supportive behaviours and advocacy. Over 6,350 organisations have now signed the Armed Forces Covenant nationally, with 655 of those based here in the West Midlands. We, here at the West Midland Reserve Forces & Cadets Association are on hand to support every one of those employers with their ERS journey through Bronze, Silver and Gold levels and welcome any new interest in the scheme from those organisations wishing to commit their support through the Armed Forces Covenant. To find out more about the Employer Recognition Scheme, and the criteria and process involved, please email Phil Sinclair on wm-reed2@rfca.mod.uk or visit
www.wmrfca.org
Richard Morgan, a Partner at Harrison Clark Rickerbys Solicitors, with 2 members of his team and 2 Coldstream Guards; following receipt of their ERS Gold Award in 2019.
